Hi.

Welcome to my blog. I live in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle on an Urban Farm (w/ five laying hens and a huge garden). I am a trained chef (w/ a certificate in food preservation), taught at a cooking school & like to share 'kitchen hacks' - culinary tips that save time, money & maximize flavor. If that isn't enough, I also run a food+tech startup called Barn2Door.com - a platform to help everyone easily find & buy food directly from farmers, fishers & ranchers (from CSA's to urban farm eggs to 1/2 a grass-fed cow).

Jun 19 Orcas Island farmer's market and solstice parade.

I have been coming to Orcas Island since I was a baby. I took my sons here when they were babies; this large island---part of the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State---is like a second home. The same-old route, the visits that blur into each other, the familiar faces at the bookstore and bakery somehow cause time to soften.

orcas island parade

The boys and I took the Anacortes Ferry on Friday; then Saturday popped into town for a regular visit to Teezer's bakery, a timely street-side viewing of the Solstice Parade and lunch and eye-candy at the Saturday Farmer's Market. We ate pulled-pork sandwiches and wood-fired pizzas at the market; I bought garlic scapes and ogled zucchini starts.

farmer market greens

This short summer-starting vacation is highlighted with my barely-permitted son who has taken a seat behind the driver's wheel. We drove around the island a bit, practicing turns and signals and ran across a tiny, tucked away farm stand. It is small such thrills that ignite pure joy in my soul; I bought a single crusty metal lid for one of my blue vintage canning jars and one container of farm-fresh goat cheese (which we paid for in a slotted box via the 'honor system'). I then snapped pictures to my heart's content.

farm stand sign

What do you love to do on vacation? I am recently aware that my favorite part of vacation includes unexpected finds and serendipitous moments---yours and mine might be different. Glorious staccato moments seem to be sometimes shared, sometimes not but somehow surprisingly special. I like that.

self serve farm stand

And just so you notice: I updated my categories. No it isn't a working vacation---but I was inspired---one of my categories now is 'frolics & finds.' I travel a bit here and there---leaving the 'farm.' We frolic on bikes and planes, across the street and/or out of the country. And there are all the fun finds: bakery shops, artisan kitchen linens, proprietary goat cheese, an antique store tucked away in Anacortes. You know I love to talk about all manner of 'food'; I also like to talk about 'frolics and finds.'

I adore adventure, snooping around the next corner---trying the next food, or finding an old rusty milk jug. Talk of Tomatoes has never just been about tomatoes; it has been about food curiosities, recipes, cooking Italian food while living in Italy, and going to culinary school. When you blog for five years, things change: culinary school is over, we are back from our year abroad, bought a 'fixer' home and have baby chickens. So 'talk' will begin to include updates re: our 'under construction' urban farm in the heart of Seattle, farmers' markets, frolics & fun finds. I hope you don't mind.

To be fair, it still mostly boils down to food: chickens laying eggs, how my tomato plants are faring, why we love antiquated bikes and big plans for a greenhouse. Plus that bakery in Paris or the farm stand by a random road in the middle of the San Juan Islands... Not to mention all our travels in Italy; how it inspired knowledge of new olive oil, Chianti wines and a secret recipe for tiramisu. See? Just more enthusiastic talk, following the nuances, whims and adventures of a food-lover's life.